Common Dreams | Source URL NSA whistleblower says “new platforms and algorithms” can have direct effect on human behavior NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden said Thursday that people in systems of power have exploited the human desire to connect in order to create systems of mass surveillance. Snowden appeared at Dalhousie […]
US Universities And Retirees Are Funding The Technology Behind China’s Surveillance State
Ryan MAC , Rosalind Adams, | Buzzfeed News | Source URL Millions of dollars from US university endowments, foundations, and retirement plans have helped fund two billion-dollar Chinese facial recognition startups: SenseTime and Megvii. The Chinese government is using their technologies to surveil and profile its own citizens. HONG KONG — […]
Police To Use TSA-Style Scanners To Spy On People In Public Places
Mass Private I | Source URL TSA-style body scanners are coming to public spaces, and that should scare the hell out of everyone. If you thought the NYPD’s Z-Backscatter vans and police mini-Z’s were intrusive, you have not seen anything yet. Soon, nowhere will be safe from Big Brother’s prying eyes, […]
New Website Credder Aims to Fight Fake News, Promote Real Journalism
The only fake news solutions being proposed were Google or Facebook censoring on our behalf or some AI for news that would come save the day. Ultimately, all the proposed solutions were about outsourcing our critical thinking skills. So we thought ‘what if there was a Yelp for news, connecting […]
Law Enforcement’s National Threat Assessment Program Predicts If You Pose A Future Threat
Mass Private I | Source URL It has been nearly two years, since I reported on the dangers of creating a law enforcement run Mental Health Assessment (MHA) program. In Texas, police use MHA’s to “screen” every person they have arrested for mental illness. But the TAPS Act, first introduced in […]
The indictment of Assange is a blueprint for making journalists into felons
The First Amendment is meaningless if it only protects people the government recognizes as journalists Glenn Greenwald | Washington Post | Source URL The U.S. government on Thursday unveiled an 18-count indictment against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, charging him under the 1917 Espionage Act for his role in the 2010 […]
Amazon Is Working on a Wearable Device That Reads Human Emotions
Matt Day | Bloomberg | Source URL Amazon.com Inc. is developing a voice-activated wearable device that can recognize human emotions. The wrist-worn gadget is described as a health and wellness product in internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s a collaboration between Lab126, the hardware development group behind Amazon’s Fire phone […]
US government is funding research into technology that will connect soldiers’ brains to computers
James Pero | The Daily Mail | Source URL The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is funding research that could give a future generation of soldiers the power to control machines and weapons with their minds. The agency said it will fund six organizations through the Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology (N3) program […]
Smart City Designed App Will Let Everyone Know If You Are Speeding
Mass Private I | Source URL A misleading article in WSAZ3 News titled, “New app targets distracted drivers with traffic alerts” would lead you to believe that the makers of the app are actually concerned with everyone’s safety, but of course that is not the case. Have you ever wanted […]
Amazon votes to keep selling its controversial facial recognition software to police and governments despite growing privacy concerns
James Pero | The Daily Mail | Source URL Amazon will continue to sell its controversial facial recognition software to law enforcement and other entities after its shareholders shot down a proposal to reel the technology in. The vote effectively kills two initiatives brought before Amazon’s board. One proposal would […]
Comcast wants to install a motion detector device in homes that can track your bedroom and bathroom habits
Annie Palmer | Daily Mail | Source URL Comcast is reportedly developing a smart home speaker that monitors users health behaviors in the home. The telecom giant started working on the device more than a year ago and could begin tests later this year, before launching it in 2020, CNBC reported, citing […]
Facial recognition technology ‘violates human rights and must end’, landmark court case hears
Lizzie Dearden | The Independent | Source URL First legal challenge against UK police trials of facial recognition to set precedent Police are breaking human rights law with the use of controversial facial recognition software, a landmark court case has heard. Ed Bridges is bringing the first legal challenge on […]